Sunday, 25 July 2010

There was a discussion a little while ago over at fedora lounge about the gateway to vintage fashions. For many, it is the 50s, leading afterwards to a discovery and appreciation of earlier decades, in the never ending quest of finding the perfect look one's heart longs for.

What is going to make me beautiful then? My heart lies with 30s, whether there are the early, mid or late fashions of that decade. It is true though that the more I delve into vintage, the earlier I want to go. Lately it has been the late 1910's through the 20s to the very early 30s that have fired my imagination.

Bellow there are a few examples of what ticks the box for me nowadays.

There's no denying Oxford is a beautiful place. But, like many in Britain, it is also overpriced, and in the month of July, amongst hordes of (other) tourists, pretty much a no-no, as we learnt the hard way.Most of these pictures were taken in the first 10-15 minutes of grace of our visit, when we happened to stumble upon a quiet corner. Soon after that the place filled to the brim and there was no room to drop a needle.Add to that rude staff, exorbitant fees and restricted access once you paid them, and you have a perfect recipe of how not to spend, lose or kill your hard earned time off.Then, just before we left, grumpy old me couldn't help but notice all the ivy had died of this old building I have admired and photographed in the past.Couldn't choose much in terms of outfit pics either, as my teeth seemed to want to eat my face up all of the time.The cherry on the cake was though the penalty charge notice that arrived a few days later. Apparently, just as we were giving up and leaving, we were seen spending some quality time on a bus lane.60 quid worth, exactly. Surprise, surprise.

Thursday, 8 July 2010

On the last day of our 3 day holiday we visited a wonderful, wonderful place called Highnam Court Gardens. It was a windy, cloudy day, yet I enjoyed every minute of it.

My outfit got some stares (mostly of the positive kind, I think) I was rather surprised by though since, while putting together something I thought appropriate for the occasion, it didn't seem in any way out of the ordinary to me.

Outfit comprised of: 1930s blouse, art deco mop necklace, pink cardigan knitted and worn by mother in the 70s, late 30s crocheted hat worn with a German pin from the 40s, modern skirt and shoes.

Here is a brief history of Highnam Court Gardens as presented on their website:"Highnam Court was built in 1658 after the original house was seriously damaged in the Civil War. It is one of the few houses built during the Commonwealth period. The design of the houses is linked to Ernest Carter who was a pupil of Inigo Jones."

"The Highnam Estate was bought in 1838 by Thomas Gambier Parry, who was an accomplished artist, musician and art collector. This talented painter is also responsible for the magnificent frescoes in Highnam Church. He started to layout his garden in 1840, and by 1874 it rivaled any in the UK. "

"Unfortunately since the turn of the last century almost nothing had been done in the gardens. Consequently when the process of restoration started in 1994 the gardens were totally overgrown."

"During the last 13 years, since Roger Head has been the owner, the gardens have been totally and lovingly restored to their former glory, with many new additions being made to compliment and enhance the original design."

And now another of my favorite Christopher Gunning compositions for Poirot, the theme of "To the lakes", which I believe suits well these rather grand surroundings.